Mayor, officials at odds over sales tax boost

STOCKTON - Mayor Anthony Silva is pushing ahead with a campaign pledge to ask voters later this year to raise the city's sales tax by half a cent to hire more police.

Scott Smith

STOCKTON - Mayor Anthony Silva is pushing ahead with a campaign pledge to ask voters later this year to raise the city's sales tax by half a cent to hire more police.

While he's gaining support from unlikely corners of the community, Silva is receiving push back from key players at City Hall, such as Councilwoman Kathy Miller, who contends that Stockton is still too early into bankruptcy.

She called Silva's plan "half-baked."

Yet, Silva contends that it would be folly to wait: California is rebounding, and Stockton can't be left behind. Silva draws a direct link between public safety and Stockton's lagging home values.

"The road to recovery starts with people feeling safe," Silva said. "I feel adamantly. Now is the time."

Silva first unveiled his tax plan in his campaign against then-Mayor Ann Johnston, and he hinted at it again in comments following his swearing in last month.

Under the plan, Silva will lead a voter initiative, first gathering 10,000 signatures to put it on the ballot in June or November. The special tax would require two-thirds voter approval, as opposed to a general tax, which would require a simple majority and go into the city's general fund.

To gain support and ensure that the tax money goes strictly to fighting crime, Silva said the measure will be sharply crafted to direct the money only to hire police officers and support the criminal justice system.

Stockton's sales tax now is 8.25 percent. A half-cent hike would raise it to 8.75, generating an estimated $15 million to $18 million annually, Silva said.

Today, Stockton has about 330 police officers. Silva wants to boost that up to 500, enabling patrol officers to blanket the city and enforce a zero-tolerance policy to crime, whether large or small.

In three deficit years leading up to Stockton's Chapter 9 filing in 2012, the city cut its police force by a quarter, and in each of the past two years the number of murders has spiked to historic levels.

"We've seen the results of the reduction of police officers," Silva said. "We've seen the damage."

Silva said he is rallying a coalition of supporters in the business community for the tax that would likely sunset in eight years.

Miller applauded the community members rallying around Silva in a desire to help. Yet, the mayor's proposal is ill-advised, she said, because Stockton is in the middle of negotiating cuts with its creditors.

Stockton has yet to win a fight over the city's eligibility to seek Chapter 9 protection, which is required before the city can write a plan of adjustment, which will likely make creditors take cents on the dollar for their investments, she said.

Proposing a tax increase at this stage would send mixed messages to creditors, who stand to lose millions, Miller said.

"It says that we're going to stiff you in bankruptcy," she said. "We're going to make an end-run."

City leaders also need more input from the community about its priorities in its far-reaching recovery plan before affixing its cost. Silva's plan puts the cart before the horse, she said.

The discussion of recovery priorities began only Friday, when the city's Marshall Plan steering committee rolled out what its members see as the "DNA map" of Stockton's violent crime.

Stockton can't put a dollar figure on its recovery plan, which is still being formed, said Miller, who called proposing a tax hike self-serving.

"To be talking about it now is an exercise in ego," she said, calling Silva's proposal "extremely premature."

Another obstacle for Silva is Measure W, a one-quarter-cent sales tax that Stockton voters approved in 2004 and is still on the books. In the fiscal year ending in 2012, the city collected nearly $4 million to pay 21 police officers.

Measure W failed to boost the city's police force as its authors at the time sold it. Stockton today has fewer police officers than when it was approved.

Silva said he vows to write his proposed half-cent sales tax so it increases the overall police force, and the new city revenue won't displace money from the general fund.

Silva responded to critics, saying he hears directly from crime victims who want to know what he's doing to make Stockton safer.

"I'm sick of it," he said. "I want more cops. I'm not waiting a year."

His initiative is winning support from unlikely places.

Dave Renison, president of the San Joaquin Taxpayer's Association, said his organization would "likely" support a measure requiring two-thirds in voter support. He qualified his support.

It is contingent on the tax measure being approved by the bankruptcy judge and dedicated only for hiring new police officers. Silva said he could deliver both.

"Stockton's economic development and our quality of life are linked to our need to reduce violent crime," Renison said.

Tony Stevens also supports Silva's proposal. Stevens serves as a reserve police officer and founded the fledgling Stockton Police Foundation, a fundraising organization to support the police department.

Stevens, owner of Elk Grove Buick Pontiac GMC, said his colleagues selling cars in Stockton won't fear a tax hike driving consumers out of town because sales tax on cars is set by the buyer's zip code, not place of sale.

His rationale for supporting a tax hike is simple. He wants to break a "barricade mentality" residents feel, now confining themselves inside their homes in fear of becoming crime victims.

"We can't let our wives go to the store at night," he said. "In my opinion, there is a correlation between crime and business. I think any businessman will tell you the same thing."